Deeveedees and Batteries
by Emmeebee
Summary: Ron introduces his niece to the concept of the DVD player.


A/N: Written for QLFC Round 7 by Chaser 1 for Montrose Magpies

Prompt: Write about a witch or wizard trying to explain to a magical child how (one or more) Muggle technology works.

Optional prompts: (word) cartoons; (action) charging an electronic device; (word) batteries

Word count: 1283

* * *

Sunlight streamed in through the open window, bathing the kitchen counter in its radiance. Enjoying the feeling of the warmth on her skin, Ginny smiled as she flicked through the latest edition of _Quidditch International_. It was the middle of autumn, so sunny days were rapidly becoming few and far between. Harry and Hermione had decided to take advantage of the weather and take the younger children to the park, leaving Ginny and Ron to look after James, Rose, and — because her little sister had come down with something that Percy and Audrey suspected to be contagious — Molly.

"Anything interesting?" Ron asked as he came to sit beside her.

"Loads," she replied. A rush of movement caught her eye, and she glanced over at the children just in time to catch sight of Rose and James running from the room. "Walk, don't run!" she reminded them before turning to face her brother, her expression inquiring.

"They're getting the portable DVD player," Ron said, his voice stumbling slightly over the words that would always feel unfamiliar for them, no matter how much they used the strange device. The idea that such a small heap of metal could contain the equivalent of a whole play still amazed her — and, she knew, him as well. "Molly has never watched cartoons before, so they want to show her some."

Ginny nodded, satisfied with his answer. For a moment, she considered leaving it at that and returning to the sports magazine, leaving Ron to entertain himself. But she had been trying to make more of an effort with him lately. They had never been particularly close as children; over a decade of being forced to play together by virtue of being the youngest had seen to that, souring them both to one another. The years since the war, however, had helped her see him in a different light. Although she would never admit it, she sort of enjoyed spending time with him now.

Sometimes.

"Did you know that Algernon Whiteworth is retiring?" she found herself asking.

Ron frowned for a moment before his face cleared. "The Welsh Keeper?" At her nod, he continued, "Really? He's only twenty-five, isn't he? That's young, even by Quidditch standards."

Ginny nodded, both in confirmation of his age and agreement at Ron's surprise. Whiteworth was an excellent player and a decent bloke, and she had assumed he would continue for a while yet. "Apparently, he wants to go into politics."

"You're pulling my leg."

"Nope. See?" She pushed the magazine over to him and watched as his gaze swept over the page.

"Huh." As she watched, she could see his expression settle from disbelief to curiosity. "How do you think he'll go?"

"No idea, but the chances are that Ridley will send me to interview him for the _Prophet_ ," she said. She was about to continue when a presence at her side distracted her. Turning around, she smiled when she came face-to-face with her thirteen-year-old niece. With shoulder-length red hair and glasses that were too big for her face, Molly looked much younger than her age despite acting significantly older than it. "Molly, dear, what's the matter?"

"I don't understand," she said, frowning as if that were the worst admission in the world. For one of Percy's daughters, Ginny suspected that it very well might be. "What is a… _deeveedee_?"

The only thing that kept Ginny from bursting into laughter was the knowledge that Molly would be mortified if she did. "Ron," she said, "why don't you take this? You're better at explaining things than I am."

Ron looked up at her, his eyes panicked. "That's nice of you to say," he said, "but we both know that's not true."

"Oh, stop being modest. You're keeping your niece waiting."

He shot her a dirty look but didn't argue. "Have you ever watched the television before?"

"Of course," she replied, sounding slightly offended.

"It's kind of like that," Ron continued. "Muggles have a way of putting a show or movie on this flat little circular thing — they call it a DVD — so they can carry it around with them. They then put it in a DVD player, which lets them watch whatever show or movie is on it. Most DVD players are connected to the television, but your Uncle Harry's DVD player broke the other day, so they're all just using your cousins' portable one until they have the time to get a new one."

Molly nodded, though she still looked a little lost. "And they said something about battery? What does it have to do with physical assault?"

Ginny looked away to hide her smile. Thanks to Audrey's influence, Molly was rapidly growing into a more adorable, less annoying version of Percy.

"That's not the kind of battery they're talking about." Ron hesitated, his forehead creasing as if he were trying to work out how to describe the strange things.

"There's another kind?"

He nodded. "Muggles have these things called batteries that they put into elekt… _other things_ to make them work. Every now and again, the batteries stop working, and they have to either put in new ones or fix them. To fix them, they put this… this thing they call a charger into the wall and wait for a while."

"Into the _wall_?" Molly shook her head, her expression incredulous. "And that _works_?"

"Somehow." Ron's gaze darted over to Ginny. "Presumably. I don't get it, either."

"They put the charger into one of the power points. It's sort of like what they do with televisions," Ginny explained, taking pity on her brother.

"Oh, I think Uncle Harry told me about that once," Molly said. "It didn't make much sense."

Fortunately for Ginny and Ron, Rose and James ran back into the room before the conversation could go any further. James was holding the DVD player to his chest while Rose had the charger cord looped around her neck like a necklace.

"It took us a while to find the charger," Rose said as they hurried over to the nearest power point. Her nose scrunched up in distaste. "It was in James' wardrobe."

"It's a good thing he cleaned it out yesterday like his father asked him to, then, isn't it?" Ginny asked, glancing over at him meaningfully.

James' face reddened, betraying him, but Ginny dropped the subject for the time being. She would deal with his disobedience later.

Molly went over to sit on the floor next to her cousins, her eyes wide with curiosity as she watched them plug the DVD player into the power point and turn the switch on. "How long does it take?"

"It depends on how low the battery is," James replied. From where she was sitting, Ginny could see the screen light up as the device turned on. "It's pretty low, so it'll take a while. But we can still watch it at the same time."

A loud burst of music filled the room. Ginny and Ron both winced at the sudden noise.

"Turn it down a bit, will you?" Ron asked.

"Sorry," James said.

Ginny sighed in relief as the sound lowered to a more manageable volume.

Ron nudged her in the side. "Do you think that's how Harry and Hermione felt when they first came to Hogwarts?"

"Undoubtedly. In hindsight, I feel really bad; I knew that it was hard for them, but I never realised how even the smallest of things could feel so abnormal."

"Same," Ron said. Then, after a few seconds, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and added, "By the way, next time, _you_ have to do the explaining."


End file.
